Comparative Effects of Vestibular Rehabilitation With and Without Cervical JPS Training in Stroke Patients

Stroke is a neurological disorder that often causes long-term disability and affects an individual\'s quality of life. Patients suffering from stroke commonly experience difficulties with balance, gait, and sensory integration due to disturbances in proprioception, postural control, and vestibular function, leading to decreased functional mobility and increased risk of falls. Sensory integration is an essential element of postural stability as it involves vestibular, visual, and somatosensory inputs to maintain orientation and balance. The cervical joint position sense is essential for maintaining balance and spatial perception by providing proprioceptive feedback from the neck region. Vestibular rehabilitation is frequently used to improve balance, gaze stability, and gait disturbance in stroke patients. Although vestibular rehabilitation has shown improvement in stroke survivors, limited evidence is available regarding the combined effects of cervical joint position sense training and vestibular rehabilitation on sensory integration, balance, and gait in subacute stroke patients. The objective of this study will be to compare the effects of vestibular rehabilitation with and without cervical joint position sense training on sensory integration, balance, and gait in stroke patients. The study design will be a randomized controlled trial. Evaluation will be done by using outcome measures for sensory integration, balance, proprioception, and gait, which include the Berg Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go Test, Joint position error, and CTSIB/mCTSIB. The non-probability convenience sampling method will be used, and participants will be randomly assigned to two groups. Group A will receive vestibular rehabilitation in conjunction with cervical joint position sense training and conventional physiotherapy, while Group B will only receive vestibular rehabilitation and conventional physiotherapy. Both groups will receive intervention for 6 weeks, three sessions per week. All outcome variable measurements will be recorded at baseline and once the intervention is completed. The result will be analyzed by using SPSS 27.